


The Little Academy

by grapefruitghostie



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Ben Hargeeves is Alive, Big!Ben, Big!Dave, Coping, Dave (Umbrella Academy) is Alive, Fix It, Gen, Literal Sleeping Together, Little Space, Men Crying, Napping, No Incest, Non-Sexual Age Play, Pacifiers, Post-Apocalypse, Post-Canon, Storytelling, Subdrop, Switch!Five, Switch!Klaus, Temper Tantrums, Thumb-sucking, Toddler Space, little!diego
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-11
Updated: 2019-04-11
Packaged: 2019-12-07 06:55:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18231446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grapefruitghostie/pseuds/grapefruitghostie
Summary: saving the world is hard, coming out on the other side with your wits about you is even harder.some soft age regression for the soul (for rio - who came up with hundreds of headcanons with me all hours of the night ily)





	The Little Academy

**Author's Note:**

  * For [pastel_levi_ackerman](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pastel_levi_ackerman/gifts).



> In which Klaus finds something out which means that Ben and Dave will find out in no time.

It had taken Diego a long time to come to terms with his regression. Often times, in the beginning, he would push it away to the back of his mind. He'd tell himself that it wasn't feasible and that he was being stupid. 

But sometimes... sometimes it was nice. 

Because when Diego pushed it back he often just went to the gym and worked his muscles sore until he forgot about whatever made him feel little. So, when he let himself rent a kid's movie for a night in, it felt nice. And, when he dug up his old blanket and held it close to his face while he slept, it felt nice. 

When Reginald died, though - he needed an escape more than ever. Sleeping in his old bedroom and eating breakfast in the kitchen with their mom and having his siblings around made his heart want to burst. Diego Hargeeves would rather die than admit it - but he _missed_ his family. He missed his brothers and sisters and _mom_ and _Pogo_.

Then the world ended. They lost mom, and they lost Pogo.

The academy was rebuilt into a (much smaller) mansion after the whole Vanya incident. There were only seven bedrooms now, one for each of the siblings, even though some of them had moved away.

Vanya stayed around mostly during the days, but she lived in her own apartment a few towns over. Allison had taken Luther back to Los Angeles so they could be with her daughter. Five was always somewhere - in and out and all over the place on his own accord. Ben was alive, back in the nineteen-year-old body that he'd died in and living in the mansion. Even Klaus's boyfriend, Dave, had moved in.

It was really only the four of them in the home and, for that, Diego was grateful. He  _trusted_  them, he let them in. 

Diego found himself slipping more often than not in that house. He let his head fill with the dizzy feeling of a slip when he toddled down the hall to draw a bubble bath, careful to make sure no one caught him. 

He was lucky - until he wasn't.

Because one day, about a month in, while he was taking a bath (under the assumption that he was home alone), Klaus found him playing in the excess of bubbles. He'd experienced drops countless times, but dropping in front of someone else - _in front of his brother_ \- was absolute hell. It was harder to compose himself that day than it was to save the world.

Diego would chose the impending apocalypse over the guilt and worry of a drop any day. He'd cried for hours after that, shutting Klaus out of his room until morning while he dealt with it the only way he knew how - alone and afraid.

The next day, when Diego crept out of his room, he realized that Klaus had fallen asleep in the hall outside of his bedroom door. 

"H-hey," he croaked and Klaus stirred, smiling when he saw his brother.

"Hey, De. How are you feeling?" 

Diego shrugged and his eyes flicked over to Ben where he was waking up. He stood when he noticed Diego was awake and wrapped him in a tight hug, completely rejecting the idea that he might not want a Ben Hug. Everyone wanted a Ben Hug since he was been back; it was hard to get enough of his gentle embrace and Diego, although he normally hated physical contact, leaned into the hug. 

"How can we help?" Ben asked and Diego looked at him blankly, unsure of how to even go from there and he shrugged again. 

"We eat first?" Diego's voice was small, betraying him as he let Klaus take his hand and lead him to the kitchen. 

Klaus had learned to cook from their mother when he was young, and he committed ever recipe to heart so that he could make them (almost) as well as Grace had. In no time at all, Klaus had whipped up six, fluffy pancakes and divided them up onto three plates where Ben had cut up fruit. 

Diego thanked his brothers quietly and began eating. They sat at the table but far enough away that they didn't hover over Diego. He ate silently and listened to their idle chitchat - topics ranging from Ben's current read to something that happened to Dave at work last week. 

When he finished eating, Diego pushed his plate away and picked at his fingernails nervously before looking up at them, "I-I'm sorry about yesterday. About h-how I r-re-rrrr ... how I r-reacted." 

Klaus looked at him with empathetic eyes and rested a hand over his brothers hands, "it's okay, De, you didn't do anything wrong. I know it must have been scary, and I completely understand." 

Diego chewed his lip and nodded, thanking him quietly and looking over at Ben, who smiled at him. 

"If you want to keep trying to be little, we'd love to help you. But only if you're okay with that, Diego. If you're not, then we'll just drop if all together. Okay?" 

Diego thought for a minute, picking at his nails and letting his eyes flick between the two. If he did this he'd be able to slip deeper - without worrying about staying safe. Then again, if he did this, he might get _too_ used to being little. What if he slipped in front of his other siblings? What if they made fun of him? What if - what if?

"What about you and Dave though?" Was the question he settled on, looking at Klaus with big eyes. 

"I'll bring it up to him, De, I'm sure he'd be more than happy to help you too! You know, he takes care of me when I'm little sometimes?" 

Diego lit up at that. He really hadn't noticed that Klaus was little? Had he been ignoring the signs, just chalking it up to Klaus being himself?

"You..? H-how old?" 

"Around one, but not very often. I'm a switch, though. Do you know how old you are, sweetie?" 

Diego melted at the nickname, "u-um I go infant t-to f-fuh-f-four." 

Ben grinned at him, "you're a big boy, huh, Diego?" 

Diego giggled at that and nodded, "d-do you... um...?" 

"No, I'm just a boring ole big," Ben joked and ruffled his short hair. 

"We'd loved to take care of you if that's what you'd like," Klaus promised, "you deserve the rest, sweet boy." 

"Th-thank you, g-guhhh-guys. L-love yous." 

"We love you too, De! Thank _you,_ for letting us in!" Ben beamed, hugging him close and Klaus held his hand comfortingly. 

 "Come on, let's get you two settled in for a movie? I promised Vanya I'd meet her at noon for lunch, but I  I'll be back in no time at all!" Klaus hummed, cleaning up their plates and watching as Ben gave Diego a piggy back ride up the stairs to his bedroom. 

The pair watched Moana in fuzzy pjs (he even got to wear Ben's hoodie!) and afterwards it was Diego's nap time. When Klaus came home, it was almost two in the afternoon and he silently snuck up to Ben's room. He completely melted at the sight that he encountered upon creaking the door open; Diego was resting comfortably on Ben's broad chest with a thumb between his lips and, okay, Klaus couldn't  _not_  snap a few pictures.

Klaus then moved to the living room as to not disturb their slumber, and he was only there for about ten more minutes when Dave came through the front door. He pressed a sweet kiss on Klaus's cheek, setting his coat down on the back of the couch to sit with him.

"Hi baby, how was work?" Klaus greeted him. 

"Eh - it was work," Dave hummed and rested his head on his lover's shoulder, "how was your day? Were you able to go out with Vanya?"

"Yeah, it's been a rather...  _full_ day, I suppose," he smiled, trying to segue into the discussion of little Diego.

"Like, a good full, or a bad full?" 

"Good full," he promised, "so, you know how sometimes when I get stressed out I tend to regress? And you're, like, the best daddy in the world?"

Dave chuckled and nodded, "uh-huh, yeah, I'm aware."

"Well, you're also a smartass," Klaus teased and rolled his eyes playfully, "anyways, we found out today that Diego's little too. Ben and I agreed to take care of him and he wanted me to ask  _you_ how _you_ felt about helping care for him. You know how much he loves you, Dave, you're already like a big brother to him."

Dave cocked an eyebrow up, "do we know the same Diego? The big, manly, dude who wears a funky leather harness and throws knives? That Diego?"

Klaus chuckled at that and nodded, "yeah it was a bit of a shock for me too. But look at these super cute pictures that I took of him with Ben during nap time!"

He pulled out his phone and proudly showed Dave the photos and he cooed at the two napping in the cramped bed before asking how old Diego was.

"He said it jumps from infant to four," Klaus explained, "but I'd say he's probably close to two today."

Dave nodded, "I know you have a little collection of things for when you slip, do you think we should try to get one started for Diego while they're napping?"

"Yeah that sounds great, I'll go get my shoes and leave them a note." Dave nodded again in agreement when Klaus started writing in that pretty, curly font of his and Dave smiled at that. _He_ crept into the bedroom, because he wanted to see the cuties (Klaus already got to today), and the note was placed on the night stand. 

When Ben woke, it was almost three and he grabbed the note, reading it in the dim light of the bedroom.  _Went to the grocery store for some food and things for the baby - text me or Dave if you need anything while we're out. We should be back by 3 -xoxo k_

Ben smiled at the note and set it back down, rolling back to pet Diego's hair softly, knowing that his brother slept like a rock and he had this time to just love on him. His fingers danced lightly over the muscles on Diego's arm and back that were pulled taut just below his hoodie from all of the hard work he'd done on them. After about ten minutes of this, Ben reached a hand to his face, rubbing at his scruff lightly and he woke at that. Diego looked around, brows furrowed when he realized this wasn't his bedroom, and he only relaxed when he saw his brother's soft face. 

"Good afternoon, pumpkin! Did you have a god nap?" 

Diego nodded but didn't say anything, just kept his head rested on Ben's chest happily. 

"Hey, Klaus and Dave went to the store a bit ago, do you wanna go help with unpacking groceries?" 

Diego lit up and nodded excitedly, he loved the idea of helping out and being a big boy even if he was much smaller since the nap. Ben noticed this deeper slip and he kissed Diego's forehead and stood, hauling the big baby into his arms and out to the kitchen. Diego clung to him like a koala and his brother pretended that he could see where he was going because truly he didn't have the heart to move him when he was so comfy like this.

Gently, he placed Diego on the kitchen table, letting his legs dangle off the side and he giggled and swung them about. Ben began looking for something soft to feed his brother, but it was mostly chewy things and he frowned. Thankfully, their brother walked in the kitchen next, hauling plastic bags in with Dave in tow (and he had even _more_ bags). Diego lit up and gave Dave a huge hug when he walked over to the table to greet him.

"Hi, baby, how's your day been?" Diego smiled brightly and made a content humming sound, still unsure of how to form words when he got this small and Dave grinned at him.

"I think he's much younger since the nap. He hasn't been using words at all; I'd guess six months," Ben informed them as they unpacked groceries and thankfully, Klaus pulled out a package of applesauce cups as if on cue. 

He smiled and dug around in a separate bag for the little silverware and plates they'd bought, cleaning a red spoon in the sink and sitting down to feed Diego while his brother and boyfriend continued unpacking bags. They'd gotten needed food like bread and eggs, but also little food. They thought of everything; baby food cups, popsicles, mashed potatoes, fruit snacks, teddy-grams, and cheerios. Even when big, they all knew that Diego liked to snack throughout day (though mostly only healthy things, sometimes it was nice to have something sweet and he knew it). 

Diego ate the applesauce happily, actually letting Klaus feed him. He'd needed this more than he's admitted, and he was grateful for the three that  _wanted_ to care for him. When the snack was gone, Klaus showed him the empty container and he frowned, looking at the table for more snacks but his eyes landed on the plethora of other things there.

There were three bottles, two (a blue and a white) for him and a new pink one for Klaus. There were two sippy cups, both for him because Klaus already had a few. There was a package of two pacifiers, a yellow one and a blue one, both for him. Next to the pile, there were a few toys still in their bags and something yellow that he didn't get a good look at. Dave pulled it out and held it behind his back, walking to where he was sitting and smiling at him before showing it to him when he got excited. 

Diego gasped, it was a fat, stuffed ducky - all yellow fuzz and an orange felt bill. He held it closely and snuggled it into his face, beaming up at Dave. 

"Th-tha..." he started, but had to stop for a deep breath, "tha-a-thank y-you."

"It's okay baby, you're so welcome," Ben cooed, kissing the top of his head, "thank you for letting us take care of you. You're such a sweet boy, De."

Diego whined and blushed, hiding his face in Ben's shoulder at the praise that he so desperately craved. They all melted at that, Ben holding him close and Dave petting his hair while Klaus rubbed at his back affectionately. It was all so much and Diego soon found himself sobbing into his brother's shoulder, wrapping his arms around Ben's frame happily.

"Is everything okay, sweetie?" Klaus asked, pulling back and he nodded, "are they good tears?"

He nodded again. Klaus smiled brightly and kissed his temple, right on his scar.

"Thats good, we just want you to be happy," Ben hummed and he started to cry again, giggling into his shirt wetly.

Once they had put the groceries away, Dave carried the bag of toys into Diego's bedroom and set them on the floor, looking up just as Ben carried him through the door. Diego lit up when he saw the toys on the carpet, toddling over to a colorful, plastic keyboard and mashing the buttons. It was a sight for sore eyes, especially for Ben, who hadn't even seen him that happy when they were kids. Diego deserved it, he needed it.

"Where's Klaus?" Dave asked after a minute, quiet as to not disturb the little boy.

"He's washing all of the new bottles and stuff so De can use them." Ben responded.

Dave smiled, "he's a good mom."

"He loves it," Ben mused, "he's gonna make dinner while De's playing too, so we'll have another little bit with him."

He sat down then, petting Diego's hair softly while he played. His attention span was wearing thin and he picked up the keyboard in clumsy hands to see if anything was on the back. After a while, Dave had sat down as well and they showed him how to play a proper tune while he giggled wildly. Freely. Happily. Finally

 

**Author's Note:**

> i'm so excited to write more little diego i just love that little boi (':


End file.
